Dental Crowns and Bridges
If you require dental crown or bridge treatments, please contact Karama Family Dental Clinic for a Dentist consultation. Our caring and gentle Dentists will listen to your concerns, wishes and answer any questions. Our dental team will examine your teeth and jaw bone, which may include taking x-rays to help plan a customised approach for your dental treatment by revealing any decay or dental caries underneath any leaking old fillings or restorations or fractures or split in your tooth to determine the necessity of a dental crown/bridge. This will help to determine the complexity of your case.
Dental Crowns
The outside of each tooth is made of enamel, which is extremely hard. Although teeth are strong and difficult to break, trauma such as a fall or biting on something hard may chip, split or break the teeth.
Tooth decay may severely weaken a tooth, with a high risk that the tooth falls apart. Root canal treatment, where the pulp of the tooth containing nerves and blood vessels is removed, can also weaken a tooth, especially if it has large fillings. Teeth can wear down over time due to grinding or age.
An artificial dental crown is often the best way to save a tooth and strengthen it. It fits over the prepared existing tooth and replaces the natural tooth.
Procedure
1. Taking an Impression
On your first visit, the dentist or prosthodontist takes an impression of your upper and lower teeth to make a permanent record of their appearance and how they fit together when your jaws are closed (known as "occlusion"). To make an accurate reproduction of your upper and lower teeth, a jaw-shaped tray is filled with a soft gel-like material, pushed onto your teeth and held in place to set for three to five minutes.
2. Preparation for a Crown
After the area is numbed with a local anaesthetic, the tooth is shaped using a drill, making it smaller by one to two millimitres. After shaping, another impression is taken to record changes to the prepared tooth.
The impressions are sent to a dental technician who makes the crown according to specifications provided by the dentist or prosthodontist.
To protect the prepared tooth, a temporary crown is attached to the reshaped tooth with temporary cement. As a temporary crown is not as strong as the final crown, you should chew on the opposite side of the mouth and avoid sticky or hard foods.
At the second appointment, the temporary crown is removed. The new crown is placed over the reshaped tooth to check that shape and colour match properly. If they do, the crown is cemented to the tooth with dental cement. Dental cement usually sets in less than one hour and reaches full strength in 24 hours.
After fitting, the crown should feel comfortable and natural in your mouth. When testing your occlusion, your dentist or prosthodontist relies partly on what you say about the feel of your bite, so you should mention any uncomfortable or strange sensations. Minor adjustments are often needed to achieve comfort.
Tooth decay may severely weaken a tooth, with a high risk that the tooth falls apart. Root canal treatment, where the pulp of the tooth containing nerves and blood vessels is removed, can also weaken a tooth, especially if it has large fillings. Teeth can wear down over time due to grinding or age.
An artificial dental crown is often the best way to save a tooth and strengthen it. It fits over the prepared existing tooth and replaces the natural tooth.
Procedure
1. Taking an Impression
On your first visit, the dentist or prosthodontist takes an impression of your upper and lower teeth to make a permanent record of their appearance and how they fit together when your jaws are closed (known as "occlusion"). To make an accurate reproduction of your upper and lower teeth, a jaw-shaped tray is filled with a soft gel-like material, pushed onto your teeth and held in place to set for three to five minutes.
2. Preparation for a Crown
After the area is numbed with a local anaesthetic, the tooth is shaped using a drill, making it smaller by one to two millimitres. After shaping, another impression is taken to record changes to the prepared tooth.
The impressions are sent to a dental technician who makes the crown according to specifications provided by the dentist or prosthodontist.
To protect the prepared tooth, a temporary crown is attached to the reshaped tooth with temporary cement. As a temporary crown is not as strong as the final crown, you should chew on the opposite side of the mouth and avoid sticky or hard foods.
At the second appointment, the temporary crown is removed. The new crown is placed over the reshaped tooth to check that shape and colour match properly. If they do, the crown is cemented to the tooth with dental cement. Dental cement usually sets in less than one hour and reaches full strength in 24 hours.
After fitting, the crown should feel comfortable and natural in your mouth. When testing your occlusion, your dentist or prosthodontist relies partly on what you say about the feel of your bite, so you should mention any uncomfortable or strange sensations. Minor adjustments are often needed to achieve comfort.
Bridges
Bridges replace one or more missing teeth. They consist of an artificial tooth anchored to the adjacent natural teeth. If a tooth is lost through an accident, or is too badly decayed to save with a crown, a bridge may be the treatment of choice. You should also ask your dentist or prosthodontist about implants, which are another way of replacing missing teeth.
Crown and bridges are often made of porcelain and metal alloy. Porcelain is strong and can be made to match the colour of the natural teeth. It is resistant to staining and can be cleaned if it becomes stained.
Metal alloy is used for its strength, hardness and durability. It is especially useful for molars, which must withstand the forces of grinding and crushing. Metal alloy and porcelain are well tolerated by the gum and cheek. An allergic reaction to metal alloy or porcelain is rare.
Teeth have many functions apart from chewing and biting, so missing teeth should be replaced for the following reasons:
• to improve appearance and speech
• to prevent stresses causing damage to other teeth
• to prevent the teeth near the gap from shifting
• to maintain the natural bite
• to improve chewing ability
All general practitioner dentists are qualified to fit crowns and bridges. A dentist with specialist training in crown and bridge work is called prosthodontist.
Based on your dental and medical history, X-ray examinations of your teeth and jaws, and an oral examination, your dentist or prosthodontist will recommend the treatment which is best for you. You will require at least two appointments for preparation and fitting of a crown or bridge. Sometimes a tooth will need a root canal filling, and perhaps a post or foundation, before crown or bridge treatment.
Procedure
1. Taking an Impression
On your first visit, the dentist or prosthodontist takes an impression of your upper and lower teeth to make a permanent record of their appearance and how they fit together when your jaws are closed (known as "occlusion"). To make an accurate reproduction of your upper and lower teeth, a jaw-shaped tray is filled with a soft gel-like material, pushed onto your teeth and held in place to set for three to five minutes.
2. Preparation for a Bridge
The steps in preparing and fitting a bridge are similar to those for a crown. The teeth on either side of the gap are shaped by drilling.
These teeth are fitted with crowns, which serve as anchors for the replacement tooth that is attached to the framework of the adjacent crowns. The whole piece is then cemented firmly in place.
Crown and bridges are often made of porcelain and metal alloy. Porcelain is strong and can be made to match the colour of the natural teeth. It is resistant to staining and can be cleaned if it becomes stained.
Metal alloy is used for its strength, hardness and durability. It is especially useful for molars, which must withstand the forces of grinding and crushing. Metal alloy and porcelain are well tolerated by the gum and cheek. An allergic reaction to metal alloy or porcelain is rare.
Teeth have many functions apart from chewing and biting, so missing teeth should be replaced for the following reasons:
• to improve appearance and speech
• to prevent stresses causing damage to other teeth
• to prevent the teeth near the gap from shifting
• to maintain the natural bite
• to improve chewing ability
All general practitioner dentists are qualified to fit crowns and bridges. A dentist with specialist training in crown and bridge work is called prosthodontist.
Based on your dental and medical history, X-ray examinations of your teeth and jaws, and an oral examination, your dentist or prosthodontist will recommend the treatment which is best for you. You will require at least two appointments for preparation and fitting of a crown or bridge. Sometimes a tooth will need a root canal filling, and perhaps a post or foundation, before crown or bridge treatment.
Procedure
1. Taking an Impression
On your first visit, the dentist or prosthodontist takes an impression of your upper and lower teeth to make a permanent record of their appearance and how they fit together when your jaws are closed (known as "occlusion"). To make an accurate reproduction of your upper and lower teeth, a jaw-shaped tray is filled with a soft gel-like material, pushed onto your teeth and held in place to set for three to five minutes.
2. Preparation for a Bridge
The steps in preparing and fitting a bridge are similar to those for a crown. The teeth on either side of the gap are shaped by drilling.
These teeth are fitted with crowns, which serve as anchors for the replacement tooth that is attached to the framework of the adjacent crowns. The whole piece is then cemented firmly in place.
Hygiene and care
Crowns and bridges should last for many years. However, there is no lifetime guarantee. As with natural teeth, it depends on good dental hygiene, oral health and the forces you apply to your teeth.
Therefore, regular dental check-ups are advisable. Crowns and bridges require regular flossing and brushing, with extra attention around the margins where decay is more likely. Special devices including floss threaders and "superfloss" are available for cleaning under the bridge.
Your dentist or prosthodontist will show you how to clean your crown and bridges properly.
Therefore, regular dental check-ups are advisable. Crowns and bridges require regular flossing and brushing, with extra attention around the margins where decay is more likely. Special devices including floss threaders and "superfloss" are available for cleaning under the bridge.
Your dentist or prosthodontist will show you how to clean your crown and bridges properly.
Possible Complications of Crown or Bridge Treatment
As with any dental or medical treatment, crown and bridge work has risks. The following possible complications are listed to inform and not to alarm you. There may be others that are not listed.
Tooth breakage during preparation
When the affected tooth is evaluated, your dentist or prosthodontist knows whether its structure is strong enough to take a crown. If there is doubt, the existing filling may be replaced or the structure reinforced before shaping the tooth. Problems that occur during preparation can be corrected at the time, before taking the final impression.
Infection of the pulp or gums
Infection may affect the teeth in two places:
• in the soft tissue inside the tooth, called the pulp
• in the gums around the base of the teeth
Whenever enamel is removed, there is a small risk that the underlying pulp may die and become infected. If this occurs, the tooth may need root canal treatment. To avoid gum disease, additional steps may needed in your dental hygiene routine, especially to clean completely under the bridge. Poor cleaning may cause "gum recession", where the gum shrinks away from the neck of the tooth.
Pain or discomfort
During treatment of a tooth, surrounding gum may be injured and feel tender as the effects of anaesthesia wear off. Any pain should not last beyond two days. If pain persists, contact your dentist or prosthodontist.
Altered feeling
If the size of a tooth is changed even slightly, it can have an effect on the way it feels in the mouth, especially when chewing or biting or when the jaws are closed. It is important that you advise your dentist of any uncomfortable or odd feelings at the time of fitting the crown or bridge. If any discomfort continues beyond a few days, inform your dentist, as extra adjustments may be needed.
Loose crown or bridge
A correctly fitted crown or bridge should be secure. Contact your dentist if the new work has any movement. A crown may be dislodged by a strong force. If this happens, the crown can be cleaned, disinfected and re-cemented in place.
Allergic response
Allergic responses to alloy or porcelain are rare. In the case of a suspected allergic response to gold or porcelain, contact your dentist or prosthodontist.
Tooth breakage during preparation
When the affected tooth is evaluated, your dentist or prosthodontist knows whether its structure is strong enough to take a crown. If there is doubt, the existing filling may be replaced or the structure reinforced before shaping the tooth. Problems that occur during preparation can be corrected at the time, before taking the final impression.
Infection of the pulp or gums
Infection may affect the teeth in two places:
• in the soft tissue inside the tooth, called the pulp
• in the gums around the base of the teeth
Whenever enamel is removed, there is a small risk that the underlying pulp may die and become infected. If this occurs, the tooth may need root canal treatment. To avoid gum disease, additional steps may needed in your dental hygiene routine, especially to clean completely under the bridge. Poor cleaning may cause "gum recession", where the gum shrinks away from the neck of the tooth.
Pain or discomfort
During treatment of a tooth, surrounding gum may be injured and feel tender as the effects of anaesthesia wear off. Any pain should not last beyond two days. If pain persists, contact your dentist or prosthodontist.
Altered feeling
If the size of a tooth is changed even slightly, it can have an effect on the way it feels in the mouth, especially when chewing or biting or when the jaws are closed. It is important that you advise your dentist of any uncomfortable or odd feelings at the time of fitting the crown or bridge. If any discomfort continues beyond a few days, inform your dentist, as extra adjustments may be needed.
Loose crown or bridge
A correctly fitted crown or bridge should be secure. Contact your dentist if the new work has any movement. A crown may be dislodged by a strong force. If this happens, the crown can be cleaned, disinfected and re-cemented in place.
Allergic response
Allergic responses to alloy or porcelain are rare. In the case of a suspected allergic response to gold or porcelain, contact your dentist or prosthodontist.